Whatever we build it must be effective. We all know that, but what does ‘effective’ mean? For a piece of learning to be effective it must be:

• Relevant – it must align to what I, the learner, want to achieve. You might create the most engaging learning experience ever, but if it is irrelevant to your audience they won’t spend their valuable time on it. Get to know your audience and identify what their skills gaps are. Find the person who excels at what you’re trying to teach and model what they do.

• Engaging – it needs to entice the learner, make them sit up and take notice. This can be achieved through treating your learners like adults and giving them increasingly challenging tasks to complete where they apply their knowledge.

• Memorable – if they don’t retain anything from the learning then they can’t apply it. Getting things to stick in peoples’ memory is notoriously difficult, however there are techniques that are beneficial – engaging with their emotions, using repetition and spacing the learning out over a period of time all help.

• Actionable – they must be able to put their learning into practice. If they can’t, you’ve wasted your time and theirs. This can be as simple as instructions for applying the learning, an implementation system or some kind of implementation plan, ideally agreed with their Line manager.

• Efficient – it needs to have been an efficient way for them to reach the level of performance or achieve the outcome they needed to – efficient in the time and cost of producing the materials but, more importantly, their time in going through it. Focus on the material that will help people to change their behaviour and improve their skills. Ditch the rest or put in links to it instead.

It’s not easy, but ensuring that whatever you produce satisfies all five of these requirements will allow you to create a truly effective learning experience.

I would argue that unless you know what you’re doing right (and wrong) then you stand little chance of achieving greatness in any endeavour. You are probably aware of the Kirkpatrick Evaluation Model and I won’t go through it again here. Instead I’ll offer some practical advice based on my experience:

Make use of your LMS statistics – if you have a learning management system make use of the data that it gathers. This will give you information on for example; numbers of users, completion of material, scores in assessments and more. Be wary though – just because some has opened a piece of content it doesn’t mean they’ve been through it, just because they’ve completed something doesn’t mean they’ve paid any attention, and just because they’ve scored 80% or above in the assessment doesn’t mean they’ll remember any of it in a month’s time, or be able to apply it. Nevertheless, LMS statistics do form an important part of the data you need to gather.

Have a clear target – at the start of the project identify what you are trying to affect within the organisation. Set an amount by which you want to change it and timescale within which to see the change. This might be an increase in sales, reduction in errors, fewer complaints, a faster response or fewer accidents. Find the metrics that are already used to measure this within your organisation and make use of them. See whether there is any existing trend, pattern or variation. Having launched your training intervention look for trends, for example, if you see a reduction in errors in using a system for a group who you’ve given system training to, it’s not unreasonable to suggest there might be a connection between the training and the outcome.

Ask your users – survey them before and a few weeks after going through your training. See if they have perceived an improvement in their performance. Talk to them and gather their comments. Talk to, or survey their line managers to see if they’ve noticed an improvement. You don’t need to talk to all your users, a representative cross section will do.

If you can gather data from these three sources then you stand a good chance of seeing what went well and what you could improve upon. Think about how you will measure success right at the start of your project and put a plan in place for doing so. It will focus you on improving peoples’ performance and make it much more likely that you will succeed.

Then you sit down at your desk and reality rushes in. You’ve got 150 emails waiting for you, a report to write, and that b*£$!y presentation your boss needs from you ASAP. The workshop folder goes up on the shelf……..and remains there, gathering dust. You occasionally feel a pang of guilt when you glance at it. Even with your best intentions and efforts you implement little, if anything, from the workshop.

Sound familiar? I believe that what happens after a learning intervention (be it workshop, webinar, elearning course or whatever) is even more important than what happens during the intervention. We are all busy people with 1001 things on our to-do lists. We need help in putting new skills into practice.

So how might you achieve this when designing your workshop / webinar / elearning course? Firstly accept that people won’t need to implement everything you teach them. Some things will appeal more to some than others, so give them a way to help them prioritise. Next be explicit about what the things are that they might put into practice – give them a menu to choose from. Finally, give them support in putting new skills into practice. This could be implementation guides, follow-up webinars, telephone coaching, peer-to-peer support or a collaborative wiki.

This implementation support can be as lo or hi-tech as your budget and tastes allow. However you do it, I would argue it’s an essential part of any blend.

We’ve all been there – the corporate induction that involves eight hours of PowerPoint, form filling and reading manual after manual of processes and procedures. Did it make us feel engaged, enthused and wanted? Did we come out with a deep understanding of our new organisation’s culture, mission and values? I’ll bet the answer is ‘no’.

Increasingly, the more forward-thinking organisations are rejecting old-style induction programmes for something called ‘onboarding’ – the process of acquiring, accommodating, assimilating and accelerating new users into a system, culture or methodology¹. Onboarding may take up to 6 months and consist of a number of face-to-face and online interactions, learning opportunities and feedback.

Onboarding is an awful term, it’s so ‘business-speak’ that it makes me cringe, but the principles behind it are very sound and done right it can improve the time it takes new employees to get up to speed, increase productivity and have a very positive effect on morale and retention.

This approach to inducting new employees lends itself very well to a blended solution. Information can be delivered through a number of channels, both on- and offline and can be tailored to the individual in bite-sized chunks. This prevents information overload and allows best medium for delivery to be chosen.

Use of storytelling, for example, via videos of employees talking about their experiences of working for the organisation can make abstract concepts come alive and be very effective in terms of illustrating culture and key values.

A well-organised wiki, which is collaboratively edited and improved by employees, can be an invaluable resource for a new starter, providing just-in-time information as it is needed.

Learning modules, covering ‘need-to-know’ policies and procedures can also be made available via an LMS so that employees can gain this knowledge at a time and pace that suits them. The information in these modules can also be modified easily, ensuring that the learning is always up-to-date. Just because the subject material is a bit dull, doesn’t mean that the learning will be dull and boring. Creating an inspiring and dare I say, fun online learning experience will reassure new-starters that they made the right choice by engaging them at the outset. The effort you put in to your onboarding process speaks volumes about the type of organisation you are.

As with any good blended programme, there is a place for face-to-face learning. At University of Cambridge, alongside their online induction, they also hold a tea party with the Vice-Chancellor for new starters. That the most important person in the organisation will take time out to meet them shows new employees how much they are valued. This is then reflected back in their commitment to the University.

All sounds good doesn’t it! So where do you start? Talk to your recent hires. Ask them how they found their induction process and what could be improved and use their feedback as a basis for your new programme. Like anything new, you will invariably need to put time and money but it will reap rewards in terms of an enthused, productive and committed workforce.

¹ George Bradt and Mary Vonnegut, Onboarding: How To Get Your New Employees Up To Speed In Half The Time, (John Wiley & Sons, 2009) – ISBN 0470485817

Two artists were selected; Jane Pitt who works with recorded audio and Shelley Goldsmith who works with textiles. Our job was to digitally interpret the artists’ work and extend it onto the internet. We created an online jamming app where you can compose music using Jane’s samples http://tinyurl.com/operajam5. For Shelley’s installation we extended the story of the Duke and his lover onto the internet using twitter. It will unfold with the hashtag #doylovers.

Any project that combines art, pubs and technology is alright by me.

Noun: A person who is creative, esp. in a professional context.

Adjective: Relating to, or involving the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work: “creative writing”.

We don’t all have the luxury of working in large creative teams where we can spend hours bouncing ideas around. For many of us, we need to be highly creative when working on our own. Over the years, I’ve thought a lot about my creativity and how to enhance it.

Different people are more creative at different times of the day and night. Try undertaking creative tasks at different times and see what the outcomes are. There is a good chance you’ll find that the ideas flow best at a particular time of day. For me, the morning through until about mid-afternoon is best. I like to approach creative tasks first thing, before even I check my email, otherwise I get bogged down in other work.

It is also important to give yourself the time and space to be creative. I like to immerse myself in a project but then let it simmer in the back of my mind for a few days. I then use Evernote on my iPhone to get ideas down in text or, more often, audio notes as they come. Sometimes these crystallise when I’ve just got up, often when I’m in the shower. Other fruitful times tend to be when I’m travelling and I can let my mind wander, or when I’m having a glass of wine in the back garden.

Sleep, stress and exercise all have a great impact on our abilities to be creative. If you’re tired and stressed-out it makes it harder to be creative. As a father to young kids and a business-owner, I know we can’t always choose to have a good night’s sleep or whether or not we are stressed.

Fortunately, I have an antidote – exercise. If I need to be creative in the afternoon I like to get out for a bike ride or a walk first. Our brains work better with more blood pumping around them and exercise will also help you sleep better and will reduce stress. If I’m walking, I’ll take a sketch pad and my phone and generate ideas while I’m out.

Environment is also a big factor. I work from home and don’t have an office. Instead, I have a ‘studio’ that I work in. I have art up on the walls and various bits of musical equipment surround me. I get a lot of peace and quiet and for me, this is vital for creative thought.

1. Have the right attitude

Open your mind to all kinds of weird and wonderful possibilities. Don’t discount anything at first. Creativity is impossible to achieve if you are not brave enough to look beyond your normal paradigms.

2. Give yourself time

Don’t expect creative thoughts to jump into your head in the first five minutes. It may be hours, days or even weeks before you have that Eureka moment. Some people thrive on pressure and that added time constraint can produce wonderful, creative solutions but, if that’s not you, don’t worry.

3. Be random

Introduce chance elements. The classic method, of course, is by the roll of a dice. This can help to introduce new thoughts and ideas to a creative process. They may seem wild and wacky at first but, once refined; solutions may appear that you wouldn’t otherwise have thought of.

4. Improvise

Basically, make it up as you go along. Often used in theatre and music, this method can introduce spontaneity and fluidity and can help that creative flow.

5. Find a ‘Fresh Eye’

Write down your problem simply, clearly and in a non-technical way. Show it to people who have no direct experience of the problem and invite their ideas and opinions. Sometimes we are too immersed in an issue to be able to see clearly. This method can inject some creativity to our thought processes.

6. Imitate

This may seem like cheating but how many ideas are truly original? It is totally valid to imitate others as a first step to original thinking. As Isaac Newton said ‘If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants’.

7. Interrupt yourself

This is Rob’s all-time favourite way to be creative. Our office is next to a golf course and when he’s storyboarding or needs to think of a creative way around a problem, he likes to go for a walk around the course. The principle is that, the more you are used to doing something in a particular environment, the less stimulating it is for your brain. When you disrupt your thought patterns or take yourself out of your regular environment, you are forced to make new connections in order to comprehend the situation. Programming interruptions into your day like going for a walk, trying something different, listening to a new piece of music or changing your routines can get you thinking in different ways and help you to generate new, creative ideas. It also gives you a great excuse for your boss if you just want to get out of the office for 20 minutes.

Ideas seemingly explode from his mind and manifest themselves in different physical or digital forms. The form they take is very much secondary to the process of creation. He doesn’t think, “I’m a songwriter, therefore all my ideas must be expressed as a song.” Instead he gives his imagination free rein and, having created something, choses the best form for it to take.

As learning designers we can learn a lot from this approach. Now, I’ve always disliked the job title ‘instructional designer’ – it is elitist, in that you need to be in our industry to know what it means; it’s too narrow in it’s definition – the design of instruction usually in the form of elearning courseware, and it makes a highly creative, enjoyable job sound downright dull and boring.

We should instead see ourselves as learning experience designers. Such a job title encompasses video, computer games, mobile apps, alternative reality games, workshops, coaching and yes, elearning courseware – really any form that a learning experience could take. We should be able to design for any of these formats.

…and, if you liked that, you’ll love this. I couldn’t take my eyes off this great little animation. Sir Ken also makes some very salient points about how our current education system suppresses true creativity…

There is a pub that I often walk past, which for years had a fairly bad reputation. It was not a place you’d choose to drink in unless you were a local. Now I don’t know whether it was taken over by new owners or the current publican decided to change its image, but 12 months ago I started to see the landlady outside every morning, rain or shine, working on the exterior of the pub.

She meticulously filled in holes in the plaster, painstakingly sanded down the woodwork and vigorously wire brushed all of the ironwork. The pub sign was renewed, a smart new brass brewer’s plaque added next to the entrance and everything given a new coat of paint. Fitting this additional work in around running a busy pub meant it took her several months. She took great care and attention with the work and now the pub looks as smart as a new pin. This got me thinking about time and its importance in elearning projects and projects in general.

Now that landlady is as time-poor as any of us, probably more so, working longer hours than most, but she made the time to do a good job. If you added up the hours she actually spent on the task it would probably only be a week or two, however she spread the work out and gave herself time to do the job well.

I would argue that time is the single most important ingredient in any successful project – more important even than budget. Here are some time management tips to try on your next elearning project:

• Project planning and reflection time

Plan the project tasks well in advance. Get started on the initial design ideas as soon as you can and allow some reflection time. My best ideas often occur once I’ve immersed myself in the course material and have allowed it to ‘simmer’ in the back of my mind for a few days. Give yourself time to think and come up with the ‘killer’ idea that will save you time and effort in the long run.

• Be realistic

Be realistic about how long things will take. The concept of rapid elearning has led to some people having unrealistic expectations about how long elearning content takes to produce. Effective elearning content can be produced quickly by expert designer-developers but don’t expect a novice to produce award-winning content within a week of purchasing a rapid author tool license.

• Free up your own time

Identify tasks you spend the most time on and look for ways to streamline these. For example, seek software that will automate time-intensive tasks or streamline internal processes to save you time. If you don’t already do so, turn off email alerts and respond to your email at set times each day. This single action will hugely improve your personal productivity and give you time to focus on the important project tasks.

There is a saying that I over-use that goes:

“You can always make more money, but you can’t make any more time.”

This keeps me focused on what is important in life and reminds me that time is finite. It should be spent carefully, wisely and on those things that matter. I hope these tips will help you make best use of your time in making your elearning projects a success.